False Memories And False Confessions: The Psychology Of Imagined Crimes
It involved two sisters who, in 2015, had given the police vivid descriptions of being sexually abused by a close female relative. They alleged that the abuse had taken place between 1975 and 1976. The lawyer, who was representing the defendant, wanted Shaw's input as an expert witness.
Shaw, a criminal psychologist at the London South Bank University, was struck by how unusual the scenario was. "Usually, in cases of sexual abuse, the father is the accused," she says. "In this case, it was a girl." At the time of the alleged abuse, the sisters had been around four and seven years old, and the relative was between ten and 12.
As she leafed through the interview transcripts, Shaw noted the older sister's language. "She kept saying, 'My childhood was rough and I buried so much. I think it was my coping mechanism, I must have just blocked it.' ...